An interesting paper on restoring psychology's role in ulcers

For those of you who followed Barry Marshall's work on Helicobacter pylory, it might be an interesting read.



http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3613748/



This paper explains a series of experiments on rats that show a modulation by stress of the induction and severity of the disease. Once more we can see how biology is complicated.



I love their conclusion. And I look forward to follow-up and duplicating studies.

Quote:

Every single patient likely needs assessment for need for remediation of (a) Hp infection, (b) behavioral factors such as smoking and drinking, (c) social relationships, (d) social-environmental (SES) factors, and, last but not least, (e) past and current stresses and the coping ability of the individual. Peptic ulcer is truly an integrated organismic response; it is an interdependent play of organismic consequences spanning behavior, emotions, anticipations, as well as physiological processes in brain and gut. While Hp is not irrelevant, it—even coupled with other stomach-injuring consumables—is not the final single answer Hyman implied (Hyman, 1994). Certainly, Hp eradication is called for in cases of long-standing or persisting peptic ulcer. In addition, cognitive and behavior therapies addressing smoking and alcohol misuse, social behavior, family challenges associated with sleep and diet, coping with job and economic problems, as well as work with employers on workload and schedule management are all part of the counseling and treatment protocols that need to be implemented to assure a cure for peptic ulcer. Physiological reductionism alone simply will not do. The role for psychologists (and other social scientists) on the health team is clear. Most of the relevant co-factors noted require psychological assessment and psychological behavioral management. Some factors require medical management (e.g. acid production and Hp elimination). The deep dualistic-based rift between medicine and psychology should be replaced with a biopsychosocial model that structures the spectrum of treatments to be applied for gastric ulcer (Levenstein, 1998; Novack et al., 2007). Ulcer disease will only be truly curable when we stop seeking single dimension causes in terms of mind or body. Only when we together fully reject a simplistic Dualism can both psychology and medicine—as cooperative health professions—flourish and find effective and efficient cures for peptic ulcer, as well as other disorders labeled as psychosomatic disease. Let us—psychologists and physicians—now move on and dance together in a celebration of advancing human health and well-being.

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